The Brando, opening July 1, shares an islet on the atoll of Tetiaroa with the nonprofit Tetiaroa Society, whose Ecostation (pictured) hosts "wet" and "dry" labs for researchers studying marine life, the ocean and the environment.

Photo: Tetiaroa Society

The Brando, opening July 1, shares an islet on the atoll of...

The Brando, opening July 1, shares an islet on the atoll of... Photo-6472007.88124 - SFGate

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Marlon Brando was introduced to Tetiaroa and other islands of French Polynesia during the filming of 1962's "Mutiny on the Bounty," where he also met the woman who became his third wife, Tarita, born on Bora Bora.

Photo: Grey Villet, Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image

Marlon Brando was introduced to Tetiaroa and other islands of...

Marlon Brando was introduced to Tetiaroa and other islands of... Photo-6472008.88124 - SFGate

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About 33 miles north of the island of Tahiti, Tetiaroa is an atoll of 13 coral islets (one nearly submerged). With no breach in its reef to allow ships into the lagoon, access is by air.

Strawberry hermit crabs are among the diverse wildlife found on... Photo-6472011.88124 - SFGate

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Photographer David Liittschwager's One Cubic Foot methodology, which captures images of flora and fauna over a set time period within one cubic foot (and then drops out the background), will help the Tetiaroa Biocode Project create an inventory of all non-microbial life in the atoll's ecosystem. Pictured here: a yellow boxfish, one of at least 167 species seen around Tetiaroa.

All-inclusive rates start at $2,450 a night for a one-bedroom villa at the Brando, which replaces a much more humble inn once operated by the Brando family as well as the actor's private retreat. Bathrooms feature an outdoor bathtub, behind a wooden screen, and a deck leading to a private, 107-square-foot plunge pool.

The 30 one-bedroom villas, 1,033 square feet each, come with a walk-through dressing area to the bedroom with king bed. Bedrooms offer a view of the lagoon filtered by pandanus, miki and coconut trees.

One of the motu surrounding Tetiaroa's lagoon, Tahuna Iti, is "an island of birds," according to the Brando's press release. "Thousands roost here every evening. There are parrots and other land birds, but most are seabirds, including the noddy and the majestic great frigate. Every evening they are joined by an exodus of birds from Tahiti, making the short flight across the sea to roost in the safety of the dense vegetation, free from predators."

Tetiaroa is home to 38 indigenous plants, "six of them very rare," according to the Brando.
"These plants range from very small flowers to the magnificent Puatea, pisonia grandis, stretching to 65 feet in height. No surprise that international plant hunters and botanists have organized at least nine expeditions to Tetiaroa since 1921." Pictured: Sesbania coccinea, a rare flowering shrub known as kofai in Tahitian.